One-Bowl Simple Vanilla Layer Cake
on Feb 22, 2019, Updated Jan 17, 2025
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You probably have all of the ingredients for this basic but delicious vanilla cake in your house at this very moment.
I have a recipe for a vanilla cake in The Mom 100 Cookbook that I’ve made, oh, 50 times. And it always turns out great. This is just a little bit of a variation on that recipe, with two very slightly thinner layers, and it uses all-purpose flour (which I always have) vs. cake flour (which I tend to run out of and forget to replenish). It also has less butter, so it’s a less-rich cake. Do with that info what you will. And you can make it all in one bowl!
And once you frost up your beautiful cake, make sure you know how to cut cake slices cleanly and neatly.
Table of Contents
A simple vanilla cake recipe (a one bowl recipe!); 10 minutes into the oven for a from-scratch cake! Perfect for all kinds of celebrations.
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter – Make sure to bring your butter to room temperature so it can cream with the sugar, which will allow the cake to maintain an airy texture.
- All-purpose flour – The AP flour will provide a slightly denser and coarser crumb than cake flour.
- Sugar – For sweetness.
- Eggs – Eggs provide structure for the cake.
- Baking powder – Baking powder will leaven the cake.
- Salt – To enhance all the flavors.
- Whole milk – Whole milk provides a rich flavor, soft crumb, and increased moisture.
- Pure vanilla extract – An essential ingredient for a vanilla cake.
Kitchen Smarts
Using baking powder, which contains an acidic ingredient, instead of baking soda is important. This cake does not have an acidic component, which baking soda would need to react with in order to rise.
How to Make Layered Vanilla Cake
- Prepare the pans: Butter two round cake pans and then place parchment paper in the bottom of the pan. Butter the parchment, and then flour all sides of the pans.
- Make the batter: Beat butter and sugar together and then beat in one egg at a time. Add the baking powder, salt, and flour and mix until well combined. Blend in the milk and vanilla.
- Bake the cakes: Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for 25 to 32 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Frost the cake: Allow the cake to cool. Frost it with your favorite frosting, and then slice it up and serve.
Testing a Cake for Doneness
Start checking the cakes to see if they are done at about 25 minutes. Use a wooden skewer or a toothpick, insert it into the middle of the cake, and when it comes out clean, or with a tiny crumb or two attached, then it is done. The cake will also have pulled away from the sides of the pan slightly and may have a bit of golden brown at the edges.
Buttering and Flouring the Pans
I am definitely one of those people who wants to skip the annoying step of buttering the pans, cutting out the parchment, inserting it into the pans, then buttering that and flouring up the whole thing. It’s a boring thing to do when you just want to get to the part where you are whipping sugar into the butter.
Just do it — because the only thing more annoying than that is flipping a cake out of a pan and seeing a chunk of it still stuck to the bottom. THAT’S annoying.
Frosting Choices for Vanilla Cake
This cake is very simple, so you can use any kind of frosting you like: chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, caramel, strawberry, you name it. Try pairing this vanilla layer cake with any of these frostings:
- Ebinger’s Blackout Cake Frosting
- Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Easy Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting
- Whipped Chocolate Ganache
What to Serve With Vanilla Layered Cake
More Cake Recipes
- Chocolate Banana Cake
- Ebinger’s Blackout Cake
- Rich Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Espresso Buttercream
- Devil’s Food Cake
- Orange Cake
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One Bowl Simple Vanilla Layer Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (at room temperature; plus more for greasing the pans)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for flouring the pans)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans, then cut out rounds of parchment to fit into the bottoms of the pans and insert them. Butter the parchment, and then flour the bottoms and sides of all of the pans.
- In a large bowl (an upright mixer if you have one…otherwise use an electric mixer), beat the butter and sugar together until well combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the baking powder, salt, and flour until combined, then beat in the milk and vanilla, mixing until the batter is smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, and bake for 25 to 32 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on wire racks for 15 minutes, then turn the cakes out of the pans, and finish cooling them upright on the wire racks.
- Frost with your favorite frosting.
Inside was doughy and outside was burnt. Easy but not edible.
I think perhaps you should check the temperature of your oven, and also check for hot and cool spots! And did you use very dark baking pans? That has never been the case when I have made this cake!
What is a “butter stick”? How do you measure butter in a cup? Would love to get the weight, these seem measurements that don’t work in the UK/Australia
A stick of butter is 1/2 cup in the U.S., and weighs 1/4 pound – hope that’s helpful!
My go to yellow cake! Every birthday it’s either chocolate or yellow cake, chocolate or vanilla frosting. I looked through and baked quite a bit of yellow cakes before settling on this fantastic recipe.